Travelling the back roads from Victoria to Jasper

Headed from Victoria to Jasper for our annual stay by the lake, we decide to follow Yogi's wise (but ambiguous) advice.

We spread out the B.C. road map and check our options. There are lots of forks in the road between "here" and "there," so we set out to discover some of them.

Our busy lives usually dictate a frenetic 12-hour push along the fastest route: over the Coquihalla to Kamloops, then the Yellowhead Highway steadily north and east with no stops.

Given a little more time on this trip, the back roads tempt us to discover sights and experiences we know we've missed before.

Our route this time? Nanaimo to Horseshoe Bay then the Sea to Sky Highway to Whistler for a glam and glitz day and night. From there it's Hwy 99 and some dirt-road driving to Echo Valley Ranch in the heartland of the Cariboo.

North on Hwy 97 from Clinton, east on Hwy 24 through Bridge Lake country and we're on the Yellowhead for a stop at Clearwater before heading past magnificent Mount Robson into Jasper National Park.

- - -

From the magnificent new Four Seasons Hotel it's easy to get to all that makes Whistler a great summer attraction -- the gondola, golf, zip-trekking, hiking and biking trails, the mountain bike downhill course, remarkable restaurants and trendy shops. Stimulating and well worth a few days, but we're bound on a much less pretentious journey.

As we leave the 2010 Olympic mecca in a light drizzle, we are suddenly back in time. Glimpses of a grey lake can be seen through the second-growth, then we're paralleling the unpredictable Lillooet River.

The historic Pemberton Hotel offers the kind of Canadian breakfast the traveller can survive on all day, its relaxed attitude on a Sunday morning evoking the 1960s. Its booths are probably from that era too.

Past the old First Nations community of Mount Currie, heart of the Mount Currie Reserve of the Lil'wat group of the Stl'atl'lmx Nation, the serpentine Duffey Lake Road is a popular day trip for Vancouver motorcyclists.

We soon stop counting the Harleys and Hondas whizzing by and pull off the road for a view of anglers trying their luck from "tinnies" (small aluminum boats) on the long and narrow lake, carved out of the mountains by glaciers long ago.

We lunch in Lillooet, originally called Cayoosh Flat because of the good grazing that the Lil'wat found there for their cayuses (Indian ponies). In the mid-1860s it was renamed in their honour.

At that time, the town was designated Mile 0 on the Cariboo goldfields wagon road. All road houses and stopping places from this point to Barkerville were known by their distance from Lillooet -- 70 Mile House, 100 Mile House, and so on.

We cross the wide, swift waters of the Fraser River and head through sage- and pine-covered benchlands where vast spreads of ginseng are growing beneath black plastic mesh tents.

Before reaching Clinton, we turn left on to the Pavilion First Nations' land and follow a rugged gravel spur up Pavilion Mountain to the high grasslands of the South Cariboo. We cut through the Diamond S Ranch, admiring the cattle and enjoying the scent of fresh-cut hay drying in the sunshine.

PAGEBREAK

Passing Kelly Lake through an attractive landscape where abandoned farms are giving way to modern upstarts, we take the gravelled Jesmond Road to Echo Valley Ranch.

Set amid pastoral scenery about 45 minutes northwest of Clinton, Echo Valley is a surprising combination of working ranch and "Baan Thai" Thai village. There are the usual dude ranch activities and adventure outings, punctuated by traditional Thai spa treatments and bounteous gourmet meals prepared by Danish chef Kim Madsen, served family style.

Over Madsen's ranch-raised turkey, we trade stories of our life experiences with guests from Los Angeles, Texas, Georgia and Scotland. Several of them make an annual return trek, having discovered the soul-soothing beauty of the place long before us, the too-busy ones.

Genial host Norm Dove and his Thai wife Nan join us at table. The ranch is their dream and enthusiasm shows. Norm is a pilot who will fly guests from Kamloops to land them on the resort airstrip.

In the paddock, the young female wrangler gives riders brief instructions. "This is the good end of the horse, this is the bad end. Always approach from the front (good) and mount from the left. Show 'em who's boss from the start and you won't have any trouble."

Now that he's got that straight, Paul faces down a lifelong fear of horses caused by a fall as a child and mounts Comanche, a large chestnut gelding, for a two-hour ride through fields and forest.

While Paul is bumping his butt in the saddle on what turns out to be a successful ride, Lorie is pampered with a Thai massage given by a delightful young woman wielding bags of warm herbs. The Thai women who staff the ranch must find its isolation and mountains astoundingly different from their homes in bustling Bangkok.

All too soon, it's time to say goodbyes and move on through Clinton, founded in 1865 as British Army engineers were building the Gold Rush Trail to Barkerville.

On our way out of town, we stop to check on the old Boot Hill (cemetery) and take a side trip off Highway 97 at the 15-km mark to examine unique Chasm Provincial Park, a short, deep canyon cut through basalt during the massive melt at the end of the ice age.

At 93 Mile House, it's a right on to Highway 24 and a drive through the town of Lone Butte, whose main feature is the core of an ancient volcano. Game tourists can make a 75-metre climb to the top for a 360-degree panoramic view. A 1920s water tower attracts railway buffs.

The well-paved road meanders through resort country, with hundreds of pothole lakes scattered across the terrain, many of them with friendly fishing or summer getaway camps.

The only wildlife we see are a few mule and white-tailed deer but the brochures say bear, coyote, wolf and moose may also be spotted. After Bridge Lake, it's a steep climb over 1,311-metre Macdonald Summit and a coast down into Little Fort.

Turning north on the Yellowhead to Clearwater, we take time to discover what many seasoned European travellers know, and most Canadians don't: Clearwater and adjoining Wells Gray Provincial Park offer spectacular wild alpine scenery and many opportunities for adventure.

PAGEBREAK

We overnight in a comfortable bungalow at Clearwater Valley Resort and KOA Kampground then, before leaving the next day, join Brenda Park of Go-Outdoors Tours for a half-day guided tour of the highlights. She teases us with snatches of such beauty that we know we'll have to spend more time exploring the park's lakes and hiking trails on our next trip.

One of the most stunning views and an easy walk from the parking lot is Helmcken Falls, where the Myrtle River plunges 150 metres down a vertical face into a narrow gorge. But nearby Dawson Falls makes an equally awesome sight with its short broad sweep over an escarpment.

Historic Helmcken Lodge on the park boundary offers a range of adventures. Guided hikes of several hours or several days can also be arranged through the Clearwater Information Centre. Canoeing, kayaking and whitewater rafting are big and fishing draws visitors of all ages, each hoping to catch "the big one."

There's a whole lot of nature a few kilometres off this stretch of the Yellowhead but we're running late and do what we promised ourselves we wouldn't -- we rush on.

We grab an exotic smokie from the bright yellow trailer housing Bill's BBQ and Curry Kitchen to munch in the car as we leave Clearwater. With his Lennon glasses and handlebar moustache, "Bill" Waterhouse looks like something out of the Old West.

Up the road, it's one more time we drive on by the giant grizzly bear sign near Blue River, enticing us to a jetboat adventure on the North Thompson. Wild West Jets Inc. promises a safe, environment-friendly tour for small or large groups with wildlife and mountains thrown in. Oh well, another fork beckons...

We arrive at Robson Heli-Magic outside Valemount in late afternoon, just in time for a whirlwind helicopter tour of Mt. Robson and its environs. At 3,954 metres, it's the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies and a World Heritage site.

Whipping up the Fraser River valley, pilot Danny Gallant takes us over Robson Pass and Berg Lake, studded with (of course) icebergs. Fascinated, we watch the mountain's form unfold beneath us and can see why the Shuswap Indians of the area referred to it as "Yuh-hai-has-kun", which means "the mountain of the spiral road to heaven."

We're into the valley again just before a storm comes through to shut down operations for the day.

We're nearing the end of an adventure as we cross the Great Divide, the provincial border and the time zone. At the east end of Yellowhead Pass, we're into Alberta, Mountain Daylight time and Jasper National Park.

With Moose Lake on our right, towering mountains on the left, we can almost smell the forest of our special lake -- but there's one last surprise for us.

Less than 15 km from Jasper, our vehicle overheats -- responding ever more sluggishly to ever more "pedal to the metal." The heat gauge spirals up through the red zone, then drops to zero.

PAGEBREAK

We ease on to the shoulder and let the engine cool. Optimistically filling the radiator with water from a nearby stream, we watch it go straight on out between the engine and the transmission.

A cellphone call, a tow into Jasper and, two weeks later, our car is serviceable again, but that's another story. And a new fork to be taken....

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less travelled by,/ And that has made all the difference." Robert Frost

Sidebar: Home-grown entertainment

Whichever fork in the road you take this summer, there's likely to be an unusual or offbeat happening in the community. Here's a sampling of local festivals. Wherever you stop, check the local Tourist Infocentre to see what's going on.

We found these listings at www.SouthCaribooTourism.com and www.hellobc.com

June 16 to 18: Fiftieth Annual Squaredance Jamboree at 100 Mile House

July 1: Fifty-seventh Annual Bridge Lake Stampede. This amateur rodeo features stick-horse racing for kids and the popular businessmen's cowboy race where entrants must find their boots in a pile before saddling their mounts and racing to the finish line. There are also the usual events.

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.